Another skirmish in a five-year flap tied to an awning in a historic district is ready to unfold Wednesday, Sept. 3, in Allegan County District Court.

This time, though, the battle has taken a new twist with defendant John Porzondek, of 790 Lake St., in Saugatuck claiming the aluminum framing of his awning is actually art that the city — marketed internationally as part of “The Art Coast of Michigan” — cannot regulate.

“We have a right to self-expression,” he said. “This is art on trial.”

The city of Saugatuck, however, responded after neighbors complained, citing Porzondek for violating the city ordinance that limits the number of signs to three. At the time of the citation earlier in the summer, there were 14 signs on the property.

The citation has nothing to do with art, said City Manager Kirk Harrier.

“Again, the city cited property owner for a sign violation. It has nothing to do with art,” he said.

In fact, the city has even suggested how the display could be brought to code.

“Finally, the applicant could take all the text that is currently on the existing signs, reduce the text size to fit onto three signs, each no more than four square feet, have them located on private property, with each sign being different, and would be in conformance with the temporary sign ordinance,” said Michael Clark, planning director for the city.

Porzondek’s house is on a main entry point into Saugatuck for thousands of summer tourists each day. Many have stopped to photograph the display. He has installed a small box with brochures that explain the exhibit.

Misfit Art

The display, called Misfit Art Butterfly “was created out of our soul’s necessity to balance our understanding of forces directly attacking our artistic goals in the restoration, adornment and protection of our home within this place called Saugatuck,” Porzondek and James Bryan Serman wrote on their website, lakestreetcommons.com.

The two run the businesses Lake Street Commons Lodging at the address.

Serman, who has other pieces of art around the property, described working on the display as therapy for the stress caused by the battles with the city.

“We’re trying to make it positive, to take the negativity out of our souls,” he said.

Both insist the 29- by 12-foot creation has nothing to do with a long dispute over an awning.

Awning history

Porzondek’s issues with the city go back to 2009 when the Historic District Commission did not approve the green vinyl-plastic canvas canopy Porzondek had installed on the second story of the 19th-century building.

He appealed the decision to the Michigan State Historic Preservation Review Board that issued a 35-page ruling in 2010 siding with the Saugatuck historic board.

Page 2 of 3 - He then appealed to Allegan County Circuit Court, which in 2011, upheld the state review board’s ruling. Porzondek, though, did not take down the structure. The city issued another citation and the court told him in June 2011 to take the awning down.

In that circuit court trial, Porzondek’s attorney admitted his client made a mistake in not seeking historic commission approval before he added the awning, but he was just trying to protect his home with the $6,400 awning.

The awning came down, but was put back up in 2013. After being told by the city he was in violation of code, Porzondek took down the canvas but left the metal framing up, then moved it to the ground in front of the building.

In 2014, the signs challenging the city’s decision were added.

“Like a butterfly, it metamorphosizes,” Serman said.

Porzondek, who is acting as his own attorney, met with city attorney Crystal L. Morgan of Bloom Sluggett Morgan, of Grand Rapids, on Aug. 1 for a pretrial hearing.

“Based on our conversation at the pretrial conference, it was apparent to me that you were unwilling to remove any of the signs unless the city granted you permission to resurrect the awning (or some variation thereof) that you were previously ordered to remove from your second story porch,” Morgan wrote in a letter to Porzondek and city officials. Morgan also handled the 2011 circuit court case.

She said the sign and awning issues are separate and will be addressed independently.

Porzondek said he is not negotiating for the awning.

“We are only prepared to defend our art and not any past history with the city,” he wrote in reply.

The trial is set for 2:30 p.m. in Allegan in 57th District Court in front of Judge Joseph Skocelas.

Cost and election

The long legal action has cost the city thousands of dollars, Harrier said.

The awning issue was a high-profile part of a drive in 2009 by some city residents to abolish the historic commission because, they said, their houses were not historically significant and the rules overburdened them.

The city appointed a seven-member committee in June 2010 to look at the future of Lake Street area of the city’s historic district, but in 2011 the city council ended its investigation due to high costs. The city spent $1,900 on preliminary work for the project and estimated it would have cost $50,000 more to complete it.

Porzondek ran for Saugatuck City Council in 2010 and was elected, serving two years. He is running again for council in the November election in which voters will choose four people from the five candidates.

Incumbents Jane Verplank, Mark Bekken and Barry Johnson as well as newcomer Ken Trester are also seeking seats.

Page 3 of 3 - Porzondek said he is not running again because of the sign ordinance dispute, but to bring back free beach passes for residents, term limits for city council members and commissioners and “public excellence, transparency and communications.”